The invention relates generally to fuel filler apparatus connecting a fueling port and a tubular fuel filler pipe in a motor vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved collar which provides protection for the fuel filler pipe assembly housed in the fuel door recessed compartment of the motor vehicle and further provides support for the rubber boot surrounding the fuel filler pipe.
In the manufacture of automobiles, the end of the fuel filler pipe leading to the fuel tank is generally closed by a threaded cap or a cap having a bayonet-type connection. The cap may be locked and unlocked by the use of a key. The end of the fuel filler pipe is securely mounted in a recessed fuel filler compartment located on one side of the vehicle body. Generally, the fuel filler cavity further includes a hinged fuel filler door which may contain a locking mechanism.
The end of the fuel filler pipe is characterized as having a cup-shape provided with an annular flange around its perimeter. The annular flange is seated around an opening in the fuel filler cavity which leads to the interior of the fuel filler pipe by placing resilient material between the annular flange of the fuel filler pipe and the edge of the opening in the fuel filler cavity. Typically, the fuel filler pipe is provided with a second annular flange which defines a seat or throat area between the vehicle body and the second annular flange for accommodating a suitable retaining member by means of which the fuel filler terminal can be mounted in the fuel filler seat. Such assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,910 to Farelli.
In the assembly of the fuel pipe to the automobile body, a rigid collar is commonly employed as a protecting member for the fuel filler pipe and also as a support for a rubber boot surrounding the fuel assembly to allow escape of fresh air.
A rigid collar commonly used in the industry comprises three individual lightweight plastic sections which are difficult to assemble and require at least two separate actions involving at least two different directional motions in order to lock the three individual plastic parts together in a sub-assembly while connecting the fuel pipe to the vehicle. In a first action, two halves of the collar are aligned and fitted together and, in a second action, a third annular collar is placed around the two halves to hold them together. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a more simple collar assembly which comprises fewer separate parts, is easier and faster to assemble, and uses a more straight forward approach to lock the part together.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel filler collar which is designed to overcome the above drawbacks of known fuel filler collars, and more specifically to provide a tubular collar which comprises no more than two separate parts which mate in a simple, single, straight forward push-in action to securely lock the two parts together. According to the present invention, the tubular collar for sealing a fuel filler assembly in a motor vehicle comprises two separate longitudinally semicircular shaped or C-shaped parts which interlock together to form a tubular collar around the fuel filler assembly at the upper end of the fuel filler pipe. Each end of the semicircular parts contains a male and a female locking surface aligned to mate with corresponding female and male locking surfaces on a similar end of an opposing semicircular shaped part. More specifically, when the ends of the two semicircular shaped parts face each other, the male elements on the ends of the semicircular shaped part readily interlock with the female elements on the facing ends of the opposing semicircular shaped part. The positional alignment of the male and female surfaces are preferably reversed in the opposite end of the same semicircular shaped part. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the male and female locking surfaces on one end of each semicircular shaped part are of a different size or other configuration to allow the semicircular shaped parts to be coupled together only in the desired alignment as discussed in further detail below.
In accordance with the invention, the two longitudinal semicircular shaped parts are easily locked together using a simple, single push-in motion to lock the two semicircular shaped parts securely together and form a collar around the fuel filler assembly.